Junior
What is the difference between PUT, POST, and PATCH methods?
sobes.tech AI
Answer from AI
- PUT: Idempotent. Used for creating or fully updating a resource at the specified URL. If the resource exists, it will be replaced; if not, it will be created.
- POST: Not idempotent. Used for sending data to create a new resource, add data to an existing resource, or perform an action. Each POST request can create a new resource or change the server state differently than the previous request.
- PATCH: Not generally idempotent (though it can be idempotent under certain conditions). Used for partial updates to an existing resource. The request body contains a set of changes to be applied to the resource.
| Method | Idempotency | Purpose | Example Usage |
|---|---|---|---|
| PUT | Yes | Create/Full Update | /users/123 (update user 123) |
| POST | No | Create resource, send data, perform action | /users (create a new user) |
| PATCH | Not always | Partial update | /users/123 (change only the email of user 123) |